One Step at a Time
by Emilia Rachana Copper
Summary: Captain Stephanie Marie Rogers was just a kid from Brooklyn, and then she joined the army under the name 'Steven Rogers.' Follows plotline of Captain America: The First Avenger and The Avengers, with a few tweaks. Female!Captain America.
1. Prologue

_My name is Captain Stephanie Marie Rogers. My father, Joseph Rogers, served in the 1__st__ battalion, 107__th__ infantry during the Great War. He was one of the original Blue Spaders. I wanted nothing more than to enlist in his regiment. I don't remember him all that well. I know he loved to laugh and he smelled like applesauce. He died in 1926 at thirty-three from Influenza. A few years later, The Great Depression started. I remember one day our landlord put all of our stuff on the street. At that time landlords didn't have the resources to evict people twice. Some members from the local communist party chapter came by and helped my mother move everything back inside. It made me realize something: that compassion can come from __**anywhere**__ and anyone. Even from communists; but rarely from Dougie Huggins. He lived in the basement apartment two doors down. He gave me Indian burns every day twice every Friday, tugged my hair, and pinched me. I was always too small to fight back. I got sick a lot. It seemed like I couldn't run from that place, except through the pages of a fantasy novel. My momma had no such escape. She worked two jobs just to make ends meet. We'd sit inside as she scrubbed dishes listening to the radio. Her favorite song was boogie woogie bugle boy. She always told me, while she wrapped a strand of_ my_ hair around her finger, I had beautiful hair and I should never cut it. I'd draw pictures for her, just to make her smile. She never did smile; she just faded away._

_ "When you get better, I'm going to take you to the country mamma. You'd like that." I told her one day while drawing her flowers._

_ "I drew this for you-" I showed her the flowers._

_ "Eat your stew, Steph. It's good food." She told me._

_ "I don't __**want**__ it momma." I whispered._

_ "You be strong, now. Eat your food."_

_ "I don't like it. It has carrots in it."_

_ "Carrots are good for the memory. I want you to pay attention and __**learn**__; you keep studying and drawing like you do and you'll __**be**__ someone."_

_ "Why would I want to remember this? I'd just as soon forget." I said, tears pooling in my eyes._

_ "Oh, Stephanie, I want you to __**remember**__." She said grabbing my hand in hers. "Always be proud of who you are and where you came from. Never forget the people who helped you get to where you're going."_

_ 'Never forget.' That was the last thing she said to me before she died._

_ I was alone. I went against my mother's wishes and cut my hair to look like a boy. I enrolled in school as a boy and took their classes. I was one of the smart kids. I was bad in the athletics classes though. When I reached the age of thirteen, I started . . . changing. I would bind my chest and in the locker rooms, I never changed in front of the guys. I grew up as 'another one of the guys,' but I was still picked on. In the schoolyard, the boys would beat me up. I never backed down though. I didn't like bullies._

_ Eventually I graduated and was old enough to enlist. That's when things got crazy._

**AN-**

**So this is the prologue for One Step at a Time. A lot of this is not mine, I actually used it from a comic I had gotten about The Avengers, before they became who they were. If you want to look into it's called The Avengers: Mythos. It's pretty nifty. Tell me what you think in the review section! **


	2. Chapter 1

I held up the paper in front of me, sitting in the recruitment place.

"Boy, a lot of guys gettin' killed over there."

"Rogers, Steven." The officer called. I looked up and put the paper down.

"Kinda makes you think twice about enlisting, huh?"

"Nope," I said, lowering my voice to sound male.

"Rogers," the man said raising an eyebrow and looking down at the file.

"What'd your father die of?" He asked not looking at me.

"Mustard gas," I said quickly. "He was in the 107th infantry; I was hoping I could be assigned-"

"Mother?"

"She was a nurse, in a TB ward. Got hit, couldn't shake it."

"Sorry son," He said looking over the medical record presumably.

"Just give me a chance," this was not the first time I had been denied.

"You'd be ineligible on your asthma alone."

"Is there anything you can do?" I asked hopefully, looking up from the floor.

"I'm doing it. I'm saving your life." The man said and put a stamp on the card: 4F.

I looked down in defeat. I left and put on my clothes. Much of it was oversized. I went into the hall to see the presentation. It talked about the war and all of the soldiers going off to fight.

"Who cares? Play the movie already!" A man shouted, everyone looking in disgust to the direction of the voice.

"Hey, you wanna show some respect?" I whispered, leaning forward.

The man laughed and stayed quiet for a few seconds.

"Let's go! Get on with it!" He continued, everyone gave him annoyed looks and I rolled my eyes.

"Hey, just start the cartoon!"

"Hey, you wanna shut up?" I asked harshly.

The man stood up and looked at me. I shrunk a little back into my seat. Soon enough he had grabbed me and drug me out of the theater. Once outside he threw a punch and I hit the ground. I stood back up, only to be knocked down again. I grabbed a trash can lid and held in front of me, but the man batted it away and I fell to the ground again. I readjusted my jaw and put my hands up defensively.

"I can do this all day."

"You just don't know when to give up do you?"

I decided to throw a punch, but he caught it and threw me back. As I was standing up, I heard a familiar voice.

"Pick on someone your own size!" The voice called, pulling my attacker away.

I heard him punch the man and kick him away.

"You know, sometimes I think you _like_ getting punched." My best friend Bucky said.

"I had him on the ropes," I said, not bothering with my voice.

Bucky found out I was a girl when he caught me binding my chest one day before gym. He had kept my secret ever since I told him why I was pretending to be a boy.

"How many times is this now?" He asked holding up me enlistment card.

"Oh, you're from Paramus now? You know it's illegal to lie on your enlistment forms, but seriously Jersey?"

I looked up at him, noting his uniform.

"You leaving?"

"107th Sargent James Barnes, shipping out for England tomorrow,"

"I should be going." I said looking at the ground.

"C'mon! It's my last night; we need to get you cleaned up."

He handed me a flier on the Modern Marvels of Tomorrow fair. Instantly my eyes lit up.

"Bucky, you know I can't go!" I whined.

"I don't care we're going."

I rolled my eyes and followed him to the fair.

"You should feel lucky; you'll be the last eligible man in New York." Bucky said as we walked down a set of steps.

I glared at my best friend.

"Technically," he continued.

"You know who I like."

"Yeah, but is he really going to go for a _'man.'_" He asked putting finger quotes on the word man.

"Maybe, you never know." I said.

"But don't worry, I got us some dates!"

"Bucky!" I hissed.

Someone called Bucky's name and I looked up to see a girl waving to him.

"What'd you tell her about me?"

"Only the good things,"

I pushed a strand of hair from my eyes and followed Bucky over to the girls. We walked around the exhibits and finally the one we all wanted to see started. I followed Bucky and the girl's over to the stage with the Infamous Howard Stark. Bucky gave me a quick wink and I glared at him, he knew I had a crush on Howard Stark. The crowd watched in amazement as the car lifted off the stage and hovered, but came crashing down. Howard Stark looked out to the crowd and I swear his eyes looked at me for only a brief second.

"I did say a few years? Didn't I?" He asked and the crowd laughed.

I looked around and noticed an enlistment tent. I weaved my way through the crowd into the tent.

**AN-**

**So yes, I was told that I should lengthen my chapters, I will later on, but there are points where I have to stick close to Captain America's story and I don't want to rush the story entirely. School has started back up, so I won't be posting as often. I got a good post today, because I'm not all that well. But here you go!**


	3. Chapter 2

"You're kinda missing the point of a double date. C'mon, we're taking the girls dancing," Bucky said pushing me over.

"Go on, I'll catch up with you," I said, still keeping my voice low.

He looked at me with annoyance.

"You're really going to do this again?" He asked.

"Well, it's a fair, I'm gonna try my luck." I said semi avoiding eye contact.

"As who, Steve from Ohio? They'll catch you, or worse, they'll actually take you."

"Look, I know you don't think I can do this-"

"This isn't about you Steph, this is war!" He said quietly.

"I know it's about war-"

"Why are you so keen to fight? There's so many important jobs to do!"

"What do you want me to do, collect scrap metal-"

"Yes!"

"In my little red wagon?"

"I'm not going to sit in a factory Bucky! Bucky, come on, there are men laying down their lives, I got no right to do any less than them. That's what you don't understand." I said and looked at the ground. He should know how much this meant to me.

"This isn't about me," I said lightly.

"Right, 'cuz you got nothin' to prove." He looked at me with disappointment.

I tilted my head and gave him a look that said _don't look at me like that, _but he continued.

"Hey Sarg! Are we goin' dancing?" One of the girls called.

"Yes we are!" Bucky said, keeping an air of confidence about him.

He turned back to me and shook his head.

"Don't do anything stupid till I get back." He said walking back away from me.

"How can I? You're takin' all the stupid with you." I said, a faint smile tugging at my lips.

"You're a punk," he whispered walking back up to me and giving me a hug.

"You're a jerk," I sighed, feeling a lump in my throat.

"Be careful," I said as he walked away again. "Don't win the war till I get there!"

He saluted me and walked away. I turned and made my way to the enlistment room. I got into the medical area and started taking off my shirt when a nurse walked in and whispered to the doctor.

"Wait here," the doctor told me.

"Is there a problem?" I asked, fear that they had caught me crept through my body.

"Just wait here." The doctor told me and left.

I started to panic and looked at the sign behind me. _It is illegal to lie on your enlistment form._ I cursed at myself and jumped to put my shoes back on when an officer walked in with a stern look on his face. My eyes widened and I cursed myself. Why did I lie? I should've listened to Bucky.

"Thank you," a man with a German accent came in and the officer left.

"So, you want to go overseas . . . kill some Nazis?" He asked looking up from my file.

"Excuse me?" I asked, nervous my voice would slip.

"Doctor Abraham Erskine, I represent the Strategic Scientific Reserve." I stood up and shook his hand.

"Steve Rogers," I said introducing myself and keeping my voice in check.

"Where are you from?" I asked a bit curious.

"Queens, 73rd and Utopia Parkway," He said calmly readjusting his glasses. "Before that, Germany, this troubles you?"

"No," I shook my head and kept watching him.

"Where are you from Mr. Rogers? Is it New Haven, or Paramus? Five exempts in five different-"

"That may not be the right file," I said quickly, afraid I might get arrested.

"No it's not the exempts I'm interested in, it's the five tries." He said looking up at me.

I looked down at my feet.

"Can you take off your shirt please?" He asked.

I nodded and took off my shirt, revealing a white muscle shirt.

"And that one as well," He nodded.

"Is this a test?"

"Is there a problem Mr. Rogers?"

"No sir," I sighed and took off the muscle shirt.

I stood there, my cheeks turning pink and my eyes to the floor as he glanced at the binding. He quickly looked up to my face.

"Ah, Miss Rogers, I see. Put your shirt back on."

"Sir, please I can explain-" I started not caring about my voice anymore, pulling the muscle shirt back over me.

"You never did answer my question; do you want to kill Nazis?"

"Is this a test?"

"Yes,"

I bit my cheek and looked away, but quickly looked back.

"I don't want to kill anyone, I don't like bullies. I don't care where they're from."

"Well," he nodded. "There are already so many big men fighting the war, maybe what we need now is the little guy, huh?"

I gave him a questioning look and I pulled my other shirt back on.

"I can offer you a chance, _only_ a chance."

"I'll take it," I said following him out of the room, glad there weren't any soldiers back here.

"Good, so where is the little guy from, actually?"

"Brooklyn," I said and smiled a little as he closed my file and handed it to me.

"Congratulations, soldier." He said and walked off.

I looked at the file: 1A. I made it in. I sighed and smiled.

I made my way home and started packing. It was hard to fall asleep that night because I was to ship out the next morning.

**AN-**

**Short chapter, but I finally have it updated! I _think_ I have the next chapter already written, I just need to actually update it. I was thinking . . . what if Tom, or any of the Avengers cast are reading this? Or will ever read my stories O_O -waves- well if you are famous and reading this, hi :) I have nothing else to say :x**


	4. Chapter 3

At the training camp, the new recruits stood in a line waiting for our commands.

"Recruits, attention!" A female voice called and everyone snapped to attention.

"Gentleman, I'm Agent Peggy Carter," she announced with a British accent I looked over at her and watched as she made her way to the center of the line.

"I supervise all the operations for this division."

"What's with the accent Queen Victoria?" One of the recruits asked. "I thought I was signing up for the US army."

Agent Carter turned to the soldier.

"What's your name soldier?"

"Gilmore Harge, your Majesty." The soldier responded.

"Step forward, Harge." She said calmly.

Harge strode forward, looking around at the rest of us.

"Put your right foot forward."

"We gonna wrassle?"

I watched as we were handed clipboards with papers on them, I pretended like I wasn't paying attention to them, but kept the fight in the corner of my eye.

"Cuz I got a few moves I know you'll like" Harge said overly arrogant.

Agent Carter leaned back and threw a punch, sending Harge to the ground. I smiled a little, but quickly made it disappear as a van rode up.

"Agent Carter," A gruff voice called.

"Colonel Phillips," Agent Carter said and stood at attention, saluting.

"I can see that you're breaking the candidates; that's good. Get your ass up outa that dirt and stand at attention till someone comes and tells you what to do." An older looking man said. He seemed like the person who had seen his fair share of war.

"Yes sir," Harge scrambled to stand up and his nose was bleeding.

Colonel Phillips looked around, "General Patton, has said, wars are fought with weapons, but they are won by men. We are going to win this war because we have the best . . . men." I saw him look at me then at Doctor Erskine who gave him a look. "And because they're going to get better. Much, better," Colonel Phillips continued and started walking down the line.

As soon as he passed me I gave him a look that said _way to boost self-confidence._

"The Strategic Scientific Reserve is an allied effort, made up of the best minds in the free world. Our goal is to create the best army in history. But every army only starts with one man. In this week, we will choose that man. He will be the first, in a new breed of super soldier. And they will personally escort Adolf Hitler, to the gates of Hell."

After that we were sent off to unpack. I put my books in the night stand and fell asleep quickly. I woke up early the next morning to take a shower before the men.

The next day training began. The first task was climbing a rope wall. I got halfway up and my foot slipped, getting caught. I fell upside down and the other soldiers laughed at me. I finally got up and over and I grabbed a gun and went to the barb wire and crawled underneath. I shimmied under and I was almost done when the soldier ahead of me knocked down the pole and the barb wire fell on me. I growled as the wire started scraping my back.

"Rogers! Get that rifle out of the mud!" The officer called.

After that we went on a run. It was long, and hot, and the other soldiers were going faster than me. Eventually we stopped at a flag pole.

"That flag, means we're only at the halfway point. First man to bring it to me gets a ride back with Agent Carter," The officer shouted and the soldiers rushed to climb the pole.

I sat there knowing I couldn't climb up and get it. I watched as they fought over who would get it. Eventually Harge got a decent way up, but slid down.

"Nobody's gotten that flag in seventeen years!"

After a few more seconds the officer ordered everyone to fall back in line. I walked over to the pole and looked up.

"Rogers! Fall in!" The officer shouted.

I ignored him and bent down undoing the lock at the base. The pole fell to the ground and I dropped the metal holds. I took off the flag and handed it to the officer.

"Thank you, sir." I gasped and hopped into the back of the jeep.

Agent Carter turned at looked at me, and I gave her a tiny smile.

When we got back to camp we waited for the rest of the soldiers and when they finally arrived we were ordered to do pushups.

"Faster ladies! My _grandmother_ has more life in her, god rest her soul."

I struggled to force myself up. Athletics was _never_ my best subject.

"Up," Agent Carter said and I slowly stood up at attention.

We started doing jumping jacks as Colonel Phillips and Doctor Erskine came by. They were talking about something and the Colonel didn't look that happy.

Suddenly the Colonel shouted 'grenade.' Everyone ran away from it. I ran towards it. I was _not _letting these stronger men die. I curled up over it.

"Get away! Get back!" I screamed at Agent Carter, bracing myself for the explosion.

Nothing happened.

"It's a dummy grenade." One man said.

"All clear," said another.

"Get back in formation." An officer said.

I sat up and looked at Doctor Erskine, "Is this a test?" I asked, my nerves slowly going back to normal.

Doctor Erskine nodded at the Colonel.

"He's still skinny." The Colonel said and walked away.

Doctor Erskine smiled at me and I gave him a confused look.

For the rest of the day, the rest of the soldiers kept laughing at me.

**AN-**

**Alrighty, we're back up and running. And guess what. I have the first chapter of part 3 in the Head Spinning Series. BUT, I don't know if I should update it yet. Tell me what you think!**


	5. Chapter 4

That night while the rest of the soldiers hung out elsewhere, I sat on my bed reading. There was a knock at the door and Doctor Erskine stepped in.

"May I?"

"Yeah," I said, happy I could talk normal.

"Can't sleep?"

"Got the jitters I guess."

"Ha, me too,"

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Just one?"

"Why me?"

"I suppose that is the only question that matters." He said looking at the bottle in his hand.

"This is from Augsburg, my city." He started. "So many people forget that the first country the Nazis invaded was their own. You know after the last war, my people struggled, they, they felt weak, they felt small. Then Hitler comes along, with the big show, and the flames. He hears of me and my work and he finds me and says 'You,' he says 'You will make us strong.' Well, I am not interested. So he sends the head of Hydra, his research division, a brilliant scientist by the name of Johann Schmidt. Now Schmidt is a member of the inner circle and he's ambitious. He and Hitler share a passion for occult power and tectonic myth. Hitler uses his fantasies to inspire his followers, but for Schmidt it is not fantasy. For him it is real. He has become convinced that there is a great power hidden in the Earth left here by the gods, waiting to be seized by a superior man. So when he hears about my serum and what it can do, he cannot resist. Schmidt must become that superior man." I looked at him intently the whole time.

"Did it make him stronger?" I asked.

"Yeah, but there were other . . . effects. The serum wasn't ready, but more important, the man. The serum amplifies everything that is inside, so, good becomes great. Bad, becomes worse." I nodded my head slightly in understanding.

"This is why you were chosen." He told me and I looked up from the floor.

"Because a strong man who has known power all his life, may lose respect for that power, but a weak man knows the value of strength, and knows, compassion." He told me.

"Thanks, I think." I said in note to the 'weak man' part.

I smiled at him and he returned it. He gestured to the glasses on my trunk. I grabbed them while he grabbed the drink from the floor.

"Whatever happens tomorrow, you must promise me one thing. That you will stay who you are: not a perfect soldier, but a good woman."

I smiled and held out my drink "To the little guys."

We toasted and I was about to take a drink when Doctor Erskine told me to stop.

"What, no, you have procedure tomorrow! No fluids."

"Alright, we'll drink it after."

"No, I don't have procedure tomorrow. Drink it after? Drink it now!" He said and took a drink.

I shook my head and laughed at the man.

"So tomorrow, how am I going to-?" I asked gesturing to my torso.

"That muscle shirt of yours will do well."

I nodded.

After that, we stayed up talking about what would happen. When he left I instantly fell into a dreamless sleep.

I woke up the next morning again before reveille. I took a quick shower and quickly got dressed. After breakfast, I got into an automobile with Agent Carter and we drove in silence for a bit.

"Mr. Rogers,"

"Yes, Agent Carter?" I responded looking at her.

"Please, call me Peggy."

I nodded.

"Hey, I know this place, I got beat up in that alley, and behind that diner."

"You don't like to step down do you?"

"Don't know how."

"I know little of what that's like, to have every door shut in my face."

"I can't see why a beautiful dame like you would join the army. I mean beautiful woman. I mean just woman. I'm not saying you aren't beautiful it's just-" I stumbled.

"You have no idea how to talk to women do you?"

"I think this is the longest conversation I've had with one. Women aren't exactly lining up to dance with a guy they might step on." I wasn't entirely lying. I never talked to the girls Bucky made me 'date.' Although I was one, I had no idea how to talk to them.

Finally we arrived outside an antique shop. We got out and I put on my hat. I was told to keep it on when we went inside. We walked in and there was an older lady standing behind the counter.

"Wonderful weather this morning isn't it?" She asked smiling at Peggy.

"Yes, but I always carry an umbrella."

The lady smiled again and let us past the counter and the wall opened up. Officers were everywhere. We walked through various metal hallways and we arrived over a large laboratory. The second Peggy and I walked up to the railing, the whole lab fell silent. Everyone stared up at me and I could feel my face getting hot. I spotted Doctor Erskine and Peggy led me down to him.

"Are you ready?" Dr. Erskine asked me.

I nodded.

"Take off your hat, shirt, and tie please."

I looked around briefly before I stripped down to the muscle shirt and pants.

"On the table please."

I could tell he was strictly business right now. I got on the table and took a deep breath as an officer stuck a needle in my arm.

"That wasn't so bad." I smiled at Doctor Erskine.

"That was penicillin." He told me and I could feel my face go pale.

He gave my shoulder a reassuring squeeze and turned away.

"Alright Mr. Stark, if you could start up the machine." Doctor Erskine said.

Mr. Stark? As in _Howard_ Stark? He was here? No! I was spazzing out on the inside, hoping no one could see my face.

"Alright Doc," I heard Howard say.

I saw two black pads come down and there were hot pains in my arms. The doors of the machine closed around me and I was happy I wasn't claustrophobic.

"Steven? Can you hear me?"

"Probably too late to go to the bathroom right?"

Suddenly fire was shooting through my body and a blinding light flooded around me. I bit back every urge to scream from the pain, but eventually I just let out a half groan half scream.

"Steven? Steven? Shut it off! Shut it off!" I heard Doctor Erskine shouting.

"No! I can do this!" I shouted my voice hoarse so I didn't have to change it.

There was silence and then I could feel the pain get more intense. Somehow I knew that the pain had reached its peak. All of a sudden the pain disappeared and the doors opened. Everyone was staring at me as I collapsed to the floor. Doctor Erskine knelt down beside me.

"Ah, Stephanie, I think your binding has, uh, snapped." He whispered in my ear.

I gave a discreet look down and sure enough, chest. I looked up, my eyes tearing up seeing the shock in everyone's eyes. The only ones without anger were Howard and the doctor.

**AN-**

**SEE CANDY! I updated (you have a new job in keeping me updating.) Anywho, what'd you guys think? **


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